Homework Assignment and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Well, I've put off writing my heartwarming salt story for so long, that now it feels like homework...

...so let me put it off for just another minute longer to tell you about a fantastic concert I went to the other night :) Talking about concerts is so much more fun than doing homework!

I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but I'm kind of a soul music fanatic - soul music as in the 'classic' soul/R&B of the 60' and 70's, not to be confused with contemporary R&B. Ya dig? Wednesday I went with a friend to see Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (Matt was so nice to take over my duties again). Sharon Jones is truly a throw back to the way soul used to done!!! And the Dap Kings, her band, are brilliant! They are known for having backed-up Amy Winehouse on several songs, including 'Rehab'. But dang if Amy Winehouse doesn't just give me the creeps with her tacky black widow hair, those scary Cleopatra eyes and her self-harming ways! It's not the Dap King's fault though. They can't help it that Amy's a crack head who needs a lifetime of rehab. Sharon Jones on the other hand has herself together, and they're her band.

Anywho, the show was one of the best and most fun I've ever attended. Case in point, check this out. Sharon does the dance moves she did growing up - she's 53, which means this is inspiring:

She danced like this most of the night! She pulled people up on stage to dance throughout the night as well, but if someone was boring, she kicked him/her off :D

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Then she did one of my my all time favorite songs, 'A Change Is Gonna Come'

This song (by Sam Cooke) is one of the greatest of all time in my opinion. It was very dramatic and wonderful - although I don't really think Obama is going to put any money in my pocket ;-)

A friend I hadn't seen in years came with me. Actually, she lived across the street from us and I labeled her house in my Google Earth post a couple weeks back. She's Tracy. We've recently been in contact again thanks to facebook :) We had a great time catching up on our lives and visiting, and even though we've grown to be political and religious polar opposites, she's kind of like a family member you haven't seen for a long long time, but makes you feel like home because you did so much together as kids and she knows you so well. She was a huge part of my childhood, and it was lovely seeing her again - plus, she loves this kind of music too. Thanks for the fun Miss T!

So, it was a wonderful evening, and if you made it through all the videos, you're invited to come the next time I go see SJ&TDK :) And there will be a next time!!!

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Okay, fun's over - on to my homework...

When my poor mother was released from the hospital, she was in a bad bad way! The infection that had gone into her blood and caused kidney failure had left her profoundly weak, and her asthma had become a problem from lying in bed so long. But they always send people home as soon as they're not on their death beds anymore, so home we went (to Susanville).

Okay, that's enough of that - I'm boring myself, sheesh...will finish it soon and liven it up a bit...

Six Random Facts About Me

I've been tagged by Harlene, and I'm supposed to give 6 random facts about myself. The really juicy random facts are being saved for my memoirs, so here is some less fascinating info about me ;-) Danila tagged me a while back too, and I meant to dig out a picture of myself from 20 years ago, but haven't yet. And Jenn Gordon tagged me last week, and I'm supposed to post a picture of my closet 'as is'. Hmmmm, I don't think so. I have to think of something else for that one :) Anyway, here are my random facts - and I tag anyone who reads this. I'll start out with one that will either make Harlene super happy, or super jealous.

1. Keith Urban gave the best concert I've ever been to - and I wasn't even there to see him on purpose. I took the girls to see Carrie Underwood and he happened to be on the same ticket. I wasn't completely oblivious to him before that however. I already liked several of his songs, and even bought his last album and wore out 'Stupid Boy'. But his live show and its effect on me were a complete surprise. I was in a Keith Urban haze for days!!! I took me about a week to come back to reality. If he ever hits the crack pipe again, I'm blaming it on Nicole Kidman. I don't care either way about her - I don't like or dislike her, she's just there. But if she ever lets him near a pipe again, I'll track her down her and damage her porcelain skin.

2. I've never had a manicure or a pedicure *gasp* - This is true. For one thing, I don't like wearing my fingernails long because I break them all the time. And when they're painted, they get all chipped up immediately, and then they have to be fixed. This is way too high maintenance for me. Plus, I don't see the sense in spending money on that stuff, when I could be spending it on books or music instead. I do paint my toe nails during the summer months though, but this year I haven't at all due to a freak toe accident in which my big toenail was completely ripped off. It's still growing back, but it's more noticeable if it's the only toe not painted. Below is my naked toe after said freak accident.

3. I can't sleep without these -humans were meant to sleep in the dark. I wake up everyday at the break of dawn with the slightest change of light. That's when I put my blinders on. I don't actually need the ear plugs if Matt isn't in bed with me snoring in my ear. But that's not very often.

4. I'm not from Susanville - I'm always surprised when people tell me they thought that's where I grew up. No people. No. I was born and raised in Hawthorne, California (not to be confused with Hawthorne, Nevada) and lived there until I was 18. I moved to Chico, California in 1987 with my mother, and then lived in Susanville for only eight months in 1991 where she had taken a teaching job. She still lives there - hence the confusion about where I'm from.

5. I have ADD - so says the illustrious and renown College of the Redwoods. I'd forgotten about this until recently, I'm not joking. I went a good 14 years or so without ever thinking about it. I was officially diagnosed by professionals back in 1993. I went to them in order to find out what was wrong with my brain, because I'm telling you, there's definitely something wrong with it (Matt would agree a little too much). The end result of several hours of testing and interviews over several days, was that they told me I had ADD, and qualified as a disabled student at the College of the Redwoods, which gave me access to free disabled student transportation services - I didn't take advantage of these services however. I can get around just fine, I just get distracted along the way. Anywho, I was lamenting to Jennifer Gordon a few weeks ago when she was in town, about my complete lack of organizational skills and about how my piles around the house and garage had reached critical mass. She is the yin to my yang in this respect, and actually owns a business in which she goes to the homes of lame people like me, who are incapable of not letting their homes descend into to utter chaos, and she cleans and organizes their lives for them. She told me about her clients having ADD, which reminded me of my own forgotten ADD. She described many 'normal' people just like me. Wow! I felt so much better about myself, like my brain isn't my fault, and I vowed to myself, to use my ADD diagnosis as the scapegoat for all my failings (and there are so many), but I keep forgetting. So, now that I'm blogging it, maybe I'll remember to throw it out there every once in a while. I'm going to start saying stuff like, "oh, sorry. I didn't get that done because of my ADD", or "sorry I missed that appointment, that's my ADD manifesting itself again. I can't help it." Just be prepared!

6. I can't type - it's true that I've typed this post and everything else on this blog, but I've done with my own advanced form of chicken pecking, never looking up from the keyboard. All the counselors in high school said we should take typing, so I didn't. And now I'm paying for it.

bonus fact:

7. Apparently I like to talk about myself

Police concert

Last night we saw The Police in concert with the O'Neils at the Sleep Train Amphitheater outside of Sacramento, in Wheatland. It was a great show, needless to say. It was The Police after all! They did all their big hits, and also lots of lesser known songs, which are just as good and sometimes even better than the biggies!!! My favorite number was 'Wrapped Around Your Finger'. Stewart Copeland had every imaginable cymbal type dangly thing to make noise with, and a huge gong. He's so impressive! There wasn't one song the entire evening I didn't enjoy. They are incredible performers, and Sting's voice is fantastic live!!!

I'm afraid this tour has taken a toll on Sting though. He now looks like a grandpa in his scruffy grey beard, and much older than he did only a year ago when we saw them in June 2007. Chris said he looked like Popeye's dad. That was kind of impressive, because I didn't even realize that Popeye had a dad. But with the help of google - here he is. You be the judge...

Popeye's dad - Pappy

At the Grammy awards in 2007, when they announced they would tour again

But you know, I liked Cary Grant best in his late 50's and 60's! I don't care if Sting is aging. He's doing it well, and he's been my one and only constant celebrity crush since I was a senior in high school (I was already a big fan, but when Sting's 'Nothing Like The Sun' came out, I was completely smitten) - and he still is, even if his last album was 17th century lute music :)

Matt, Me, Nicole, Chris

I love my new Fidel Castro-ish/Police hat ;)

The people watching was fun too.

This was a couple sitting right in front of us, sporting matching his & hers ear plugs. They were deafinitely ready to ROCK OUT! The plugs stayed in ALL night.

A good time was had by all, even the hearing impaired. Actually, that describes us after the concert - the people who didn't wear ear plugs :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The audio is terrible, but you get the idea

I saw and heard my Mother's Day gift tonight

For Mother's day, Matt got me tickets to see Al Green. We went to the show tonight (yesterday actually)and he was INCREDIBLE!!!!! Thanks honey :)

Part of Love And Happiness

It happens very rarely, but sometimes Janene (my sister) and I come up with some bad ideas

Tickets to see Carrie Underwood: $55 each

Tank of gas to get to the concert: $100

Concert t-shirts for the kids: $30 each

Having your 5 year old twins get tired before the show even starts, whine and fight about who gets your attention, then fall asleep on your lap, preventing you from enjoying the show or seeing anything happening on stage: PRICELESS

This is what they (my sister's kids) slept through. My camera work is wobbly in the beginning because Sophie had to tell me twice that her silly putty was lost, and that she wanted to go home. But she made her way over to Ella and Jordan eventually, so I can't quite explain my lameness after that.

This was the scene in the parking lot after the concert :D

What were we thinking? :)

Maybe Ella will be a photographer

Okay, I won't post the other 50 pictures she snapped that were lousy. But it's really hard to take a good concert photo with an ordinary crap camera on the available light setting! I think these shots are as good as any concert pics I've ever seen. EVER!!! And the fact that I'm her mother doesn't make me biased in the least ;-)

Carrie Underwood at the Reno Events Center, May 19, 2008